love this!

Not sure when you stop thinking dandelions are beautiful, but figures it's somewhere around the time you get a job & can afford lawn chemicals
brian andreas

that was my daily quote from storypeople.com. finn & i went for a walk today because it's beautiful & because if we're inside i feel obligated to do some work & he was too fussy for that at the moment. our walk lasted 5 minutes before i turned around to get the camera. we walked straight back to this yard & i plopped him down. it was too freaken appropriate. i've seen some neighbors painstakingly spraying to avoid having this grow in their yard. i think they're nuts- this is such a beautiful thing to wake up to everyday. (now- i don't know if they're native or not & that could change my argument completely.) but for now. let's just giggle together at how adorable my son is.

my favorite from our session.

exploring flowers...


okay, mom. i think i'm done. come get me.

i hope you have a wonderful st.patricks day. i'm off to work at rei :)

dinner with grandpa.

way back in november we went out to eat with ron's dad, great grand-dad paris -i love him. he is the funniest! he made some comment about me eating all the food at the buffet so he'd need to go first. it's now our running joke and i am sorry for anyone that gets knocked over in our mad dash to get there first.

ron & evelyn!
the handsome gabe.

our evie.
tehee. in elf form!
she loves him...
soo much! muah cousin finn!
he's got my duck!

mmmmm. food.
gabe loving on aunt lissa.
i'm getting there! i'm getting there! soon ya'll will have current posts!

being a mama.

is it meant to split my heart into a thousand tiny pieces? because that's what it does.

we're trying to teach finn to "self soothe" whatever in the hell that means. it's gentler terminology than sleep training or cry yourself to sleep, kid. neither of those things am i a fan of.

my child will soon enough push me away. he won't want me close. there goes several hundred tiny pieces floating away just thinking about it...

why on earth would i want to force him now? shouldn't i want to cling to him, run to him, help him in every way possible- and if that means rocking him to sleep shall be it?!

i understand why that isn't healthy. for him or me or bryan & i's relationship- i'm not a crazy mama. just an intensely in-love-with-her-child mama.

so, we've agreed to rocking him back to sleep, if he's that awake. but our goal is to get to him before he's that frustrated & pat his back while shushing him back to sleep. no more co-sleeping, which has been so amazing. so sweet. so wonderful. i'm sad. but i'm majorly sleep deprived. honestly, don't tell bryan- but i'd keep doing it if i could teach myself how to take naps!

this parenting gig is tough!

i mean at least once a day i freak out about something terrible happening to him. somedays i'm lucky & i don't think about it at all & i can just enjoy the here and now. we're here. happy. holding our baby between us while we giggle with him, squeeze him in a baby sandwich & kiss his cheeks. pat that adorable ghetto baby booty.

i get to watch bryan teach him how to shoot hoops- which he's amazing at.

i get to watch him tear the picture frames off the bookshelf & then with a devilish smile he looks at me, daring me to be mad at that adorable face.

he is a mischievous kid. he falls down hard, and cries occasionally. sometimes i can feel the pain -it can bring tears to my eyes.

man. finn, did you really have to fill my heart to this intensity so that every little crack was noticeable?

i don't mean to complain my little man. far from it. i love what you've done to me- i'm a much nicer, healthier, happier person since you've entered my world. and that's why i can't imagine my life without you.

the world of solids

on november 3rd while we were visiting ky finn had his first solids. i think it was some sort of butternut squash or winter squash, i can't remember at the moment. he made some hilarious faces as all babies seem to do when they attempt to enter the big bad world of solids. which is funny- because it ain't solid. it's runny, smelly & occasionally tasty slush.

anyways. my mom & aunt melissa did the honors!


more. want more. now.
i think i like it. but i may need another bite to decide.
aunt lissa.

sweetness.
i can't wait to share the post of finn's first homemade baby food meal! it's awesome. but, be patient i have about 4 months of posts to catch up on :) before i can get to that.

lil pnut's naked shoot.

finn's photo shoot. we do these every so often. i loved these from back on 10.30.09

nana got us this lil cap i think & i simply adore it.

perfect harmony- that's what our little guy is.
the perfect blend of rambunctiousness, sweetness & smiles.





happy tuesday!

This is a special bike that's not very good at listening to excuses, so it takes you exactly where you really want to go & if you kick & scream it makes you pedal harder & go up steeper hills until you're too out of breath to complain & after awhile, if you're lucky, you start to see that it doesn't really matter if you laugh or cry, because it just wants to ride like the wind.
brian andreas

happy monday

hiking in the adirondacks.

silver bay is beautiful. but, it's especially beautiful in the fall. there is a beautiful birch tree with yellow leaves a little to the right that couldn't fit in my frame... i love this place.

the mountain covered in colors.
the hikers. jefe, me, mo.
& now for some hiking pictures!





trees are downright magical.







we kinda lost the trail for a bit :)

i wonder if duct tape really seals a crack in a boat... hmmm?




& my favorite... on the drive back.
i think we hiked 8 miles total. i could do this everyday. it kicked my butt, but not nearly as much as i had expected it to. natural childbirth does amazing things for your endurance & pain tolerance :)